Malta Blockchain Summit: Report

A back to back, two-day blockchain summit with hundreds of companies and thousands of attendees. Took place on November 1st and 2nd in Malta.

There were over 400 companies presenting their ideas or services to over 8000 attendees. It was a huge turnover for the conference that was expecting 4000 delegates, 100 speakers and over 150 sponsors and exhibitors. Yet, the almost double amount in numbers did not impact the conference in any way. It has been executed flawlessly.

November 1st. The first day of the conference

A chaos that no one expected. Stands and exhibition area was too tightly packed for a comfortable conversation. While bars and restaurants were packed to the roof to find any place where you could try and close the deal quietly.

There were over 27 different talks on the stage. Ranging from Regulatory in blockchain to Malta’s blockchain development initiative to blockchain in education. With speakers such as Malta’s prime minister, Sophia the AI, Eva Kaili Member of the European Parliament, Justin Sun founder of Tron and many other.

One thing that was clearly visible on the first day that at least 51% of the booth representatives were companies that offer services for the ICOs. Such as legal, advisory, marketing, wallets, exchanges and services for investors.

The closing of the day followed by the evening drinks and networking. There were two networking events going on that evening. One for the general public at the Tapaz bar. And one at the hotel - an invite only. The select few that got in got to mingle with the elusive investors.

November 2nd. The Second day of the conference

The second day had a much slower start. And it was clearly visible that it was much appreciated by the representatives of the booths.

However, the main speaking stage was as packed as the first day. With over 20 different talks, ranging from smart contracts, blockchain of things, AI, and post-ICO period. With speakers such as Hartej Sawhney President of Hosho.io, Miko Matsumura founder of Evercoin and Joshua Hong founder of FUTURAMA Blockchain Innovators.

The final part of the conference for those that did not leave was a huge after party for all the attendees to have one final networking session without a limit.

Conclusion

The conference was a huge success showing a huge interest in Malta as blockchain hub and blockchain technology. Even in the current bear market. However, there was an interesting finding to be made for the “Malta The Blockchain Island”. Malta garners a lot of attention as being a crypto business-friendly and positive regulations. However, the local businesses do not accept crypto payments. Rumor says it is because of the banks and governments regulations. This leaves a strange aftertaste. On one hand, the island is progressive and innovative towards the blockchain market, on the other hand, it limits its own population and market in accepting crypto payments. This is something to think about.